JLPT N5 Grammar: どの (dono) — “Which” (Before a Noun)

JLPT N5 Grammar: どの (dono)

Q: What's the difference between どの and どんな?

どの asks 'which specific one?' from a known set (どの本 = which book?). どんな asks 'what kind of?' about characteristics (どんな本 = what kind of book?).

The question word “which” — always followed by a noun

JLPTジェイエルピーティー N5エヌゴ文法ぶんぽう疑問詞ぎもんし「どの」解説かいせつ (どの + 名詞めいし)

⏱️ Study time: 4–6 minutes

どの (dono) means "which" and must always be followed by a noun. It's part of the こそあど (kosoado) system — the same family as この, その, あの. Use どの + noun when choosing from a group of three or more items. Its standalone counterpart is どれ.

🚀 JLPT N5 Warm-up Quiz

Q: How do you say “Which book is yours?”

Both A and C are correct! A uses どの + noun (which book), C uses どれ (which one) as a standalone pronoun. B is incorrect — どれ cannot be followed directly by a noun.

Quick Summary

Word
どの

Meaning
which ~ (must have a noun)

Standalone version
どれ (which one)

Example
どの本ほんが好すきですか。どのほんがすきですか。Dono hon ga suki desu ka.
Which book do you like?

📝 Core Pattern

Which + noun: どの + Noun + が/は + Predicate

Examples: どの本ほん / どの人ひと / どの車くるま

Standalone: どれ (use when the noun is already understood)

⚠️ どの can never stand alone. It must always be followed by a noun. If you want to say just "which one?", use どれ.

🧠 Need the standalone "which"? See どれ (dore) →

💡 Toggle furigana, hiragana, or romaji for easier reading.

What is どの?

どの means "which" and is a pre‑nominal adjective — it must be followed by a noun. It belongs to the こそあど (kosoado) system alongside この (this), その (that), and あの (that over there). Use どの when you're asking someone to choose a specific item from a group of three or more.

どの + noun: どの本ほんがいいですか — Which book is good?
どの + noun: どの人ひとですか — Which person is it?
Cannot stand alone: say どれ for "which one?" without a noun.

どの電車でんしゃが東京とうきょうへ行いきますか。どのでんしゃがとうきょうへいきますか。Dono densha ga Tōkyō e ikimasu ka.
Which train goes to Tokyo?

⚡ Kosoado Chart — この / その / あの / どの

Prefix	Word	Meaning	Distance
こ	この	this ~	near speaker
そ	その	that ~	near listener
あ	あの	that ~ over there	far from both
ど	どの	which ~?	question

💡 Pattern: All four words follow the same rule — they must be followed by a noun. Their standalone counterparts are これ, それ, あれ, どれ.

⚡ Common Question Patterns with どの

Pattern	Meaning	Example
どの + Noun + ですか	Which ~ is it?	どの本ほんですか。 Which book is it?
どの + Noun + が + いいですか	Which ~ is good / do you want?	どのケーキがいいですか。 Which cake would you like?
どの + Noun + が + 好すきですか	Which ~ do you like?	どの色いろが好すきですか。 Which colour do you like?
どの + 人ひとですか	Which person is it?	田中たなかさんはどの人ひとですか。 Which person is Mr. Tanaka?

Examples & Mini Dialogue

どの映画えいがを見みたいですか。どのえいがをみたいですか。Dono eiga o mitai desu ka.
Which movie do you want to watch?

✅ どの + noun asks for a choice from a group.

どのペンが一番いちばん書かきやすいですか。どのぺんがいちばんかきやすいですか。Dono pen ga ichiban kakiyasui desu ka.
Which pen is the easiest to write with?

🗣️ Mini Dialogue
A: ケーキがたくさんありますね。どれがいいですか。けーきがたくさんありますね。どれがいいですか。Kēki ga takusan arimasu ne. Dore ga ii desu ka.
B: あのチョコレートケーキがいいです。あのちょこれーとけーきがいいです。Ano chokorēto kēki ga ii desu.

⚡ どの vs どれ — Adjective vs Pronoun

Word	Type	Must be followed by	Example
どの	Pre‑nominal adjective	A noun	どの本ほんですか。 Which book is it?
どれ	Pronoun	Nothing (stands alone)	どれですか。 Which one is it?

⚠️ JLPT Trap: Never say どの + particle without a noun. どのは ✕, どのが ✕. If you want to say "which one" without repeating the noun, always use どれ.

Common Mistakes (and Fixes)

✕ どれ本ほんですか。

✓ どの本ほんですか / どれですか。 (どれ is a pronoun — no noun after it. どの needs a noun.)

✕ どのがいいですか。

✓ どれがいいですか / どの本ほんがいいですか。 (どの must have a noun; cannot directly take が.)

✕ どのですか。

✓ どれですか。 (どの cannot stand alone — use どれ.)

JLPT N5 Practice Questions

Score: 0 / 3

1. “Which book is yours?” — choose the correct form.

2. どの must always be followed by a ________.

3. What is the standalone version of どの?

🎯 JLPT N5 tip: どの is part of the こそあど system, which is tested in almost every N5 paper. The key rule: どの (adjective) must have a noun after it; どれ (pronoun) stands alone. Confusing the two is one of the most common errors in the grammar section.

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⚡ Vocabulary Used in This Lesson

Japanese	Reading	Type	English Meaning
どの	どの	Pre‑nominal adjective	which ~
どれ	どれ	Pronoun	which one
本ほん	ほん	Noun	book
映画えいが	えいが	Noun	movie
電車でんしゃ	でんしゃ	Noun	train
好すき	すき	na‑adjective	likeable
ケーキ	けーき	Noun	cake

Related Grammar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can どの ever stand alone?

No, never. どの is a pre‑nominal adjective and must always be followed by a noun. If you want to say "which one?" without a noun, use どれ.

What's the difference between どの and どんな?

どの asks "which specific one?" from a known set (どの本 = which book?). どんな asks "what kind of?" about characteristics (どんな本 = what kind of book?). どんな is also N5, but the distinction is important.

Is どの used with が or は?

As a question word, どの + noun usually takes が: どの本がいいですか (Which book is good?). Like だれ and なに, it asks for new information, so が is the standard subject marker.

Continue Learning

Next: どれ (dore) — the standalone "which one".

Learn どれ →

→ Explore the JLPT N5 Grammar Hub

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